The northern Indian city of Meerut was both panicked and intrigued by a leopard on the loose on Sunday , which has eluded captors since .

The big cat was found in a local timber shop before being cornered in a nearby hospital , local forest official Sushant Sharma told CNN on Tuesday .

Animal control experts were called to tranquilize the animal , which made a daring escape , breaking a window in the room to make its getaway . After breaking out of the hospital it went into a cinema and later also entered an apartment block .

Stunning photographs purport to show the leopard leaping across rooftops , squeezing through a hole in the wall of the Meerut Cantonment Hospital , and snarling at a baton-wielding official through a window .

Crowds complicate capture efforts

The cat sparked more inquisitiveness than trepidation as onlookers crowded around the site of the cat 's incarceration , hampering efforts by the authorities to capture and release the leopard . `` It got agitated and escaped , '' Sharma said .

But curiosity got the better of some in the crowd . Seven people were injured by the leopard , including a policeman who needed treatment for a gash on the shoulder .

No sightings were confirmed on Monday and Sushant did not rule out the possibility the leopard had retreated into the forests .

`` Nothing happened -LRB- Monday -RRB- . So , there are chances it could have gone back to the forests . But we are still trying to track it , '' Sharma said .

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Human encroachment

The incident is the latest in a series of big cat attacks in India , including at least one alleged man-eater , also in Uttar Pradesh , home to one of the world 's last remaining tiger habitats . A leopard also mauled a 5-year-old boy to death in the eastern state of Chhattisgarh last week .

The increasing number of sightings -- and attacks -- by big cats in India is raising the issue of human encroachment on wild animal habitats .

`` There are many cases where human habitats are encroaching on those of big cats , which are getting lesser and lesser over the years , '' said Jimmy Borah , Tiger Coordinator for the World Wildlife Fund India .

`` The cats are forced to come out of their habitats to look for food . There is lots of habitat loss and with that food source loss -- it 's one of the main problems , which is why they are coming out . ''

Officials said at least nine people have died from tiger attacks since the end of December . Eight of those deaths have been blamed on a single man-eating female tiger .

`` It is possible that the tiger came out -LRB- of her habitat -RRB- looking for food and the humans accidentally came out in front of the tigers , which would mean she would be bound to kill them . Maybe she was with cubs , and as tigers are very protective they will actively attack threats . ''

Borah said that in areas where there is no human encroachment , population numbers are stable . However , he agreed that if a particular animal was positively identified as one responsible for human deaths , `` then one option is taking her out . ''

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Leopard runs amok in Meerut , north-east of New Delhi

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Evades capture after being cornered in a hospital

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Leopard also entered a cinema and apartment block

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Increase in urban big cat-sightings sparks debate about encroachment on animal habitats